Course Data

Room 3253TR 1100-1220

Pass/Fail: Yes

Credit Rule: 60

Equal Employment Law examines the legal principles prohibiting discrimination in the workplace and the basic litigation strategies in employment discrimination cases. The course will focus primarily on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (and its subsequent amendments), the basic federal statute governing employment discrimination, and the case law interpreting and applying it, with some additional attention to other federal anti-discrimination laws. While it is not feasible to give thorough coverage to all the federal statutes regulating employment discrimination, the course gives students a solid grounding in the fundamental principles of employment discrimination law and litigation.

The course is listed for three credits, with a fourth credit optional. Those taking the course for four credits are required to complete an upper level writing requirement (which is typically a brief or paper on a current topic of interest); I will provide suggested topics along with a suggested bibliography, and for those wanting to write a brief, with a fact scenario). Those taking the course for 3 credits are required, in addition to the regular course work, to do one oral presentation. The oral presentation is graded only on a satisfactory or unsatisfactory basis; you are given time to prepare because in the last six weeks of the course, the reading assignments are reduced to 30 pages per week, with the extra time devoted to the special topic you have chosen. This enables us to get some additional coverage in areas we otherwise only touch on (disability discrimination, wellness programs and the impact of HIPPA, GINA and the ADA, religious discrimination, pending issues on affirmative action, etc). All students are also required to take a three-hour final exam; one-third of the exam are short answer questions based on the oral presentations.